Oak Park Community Council

Crime Prevention Program Increases Safety at San Diego

A unique crime prevention program is reducing the prevalence of drugs, gangs and other safety concerns in and around apartment communities throughoutSan DiegoCounty. 

The program, known as Crime Free Multi-Housing (CFHM), is implemented in three phases to help apartment managers and residents identify, eliminate and – in many cases – prevent illegal nuisance-related activity from occurring at their properties.

In Phase One, apartment managers attend an 8-hour workshop conducted by local law enforcement agencies.  This in-depth training session teaches managers how to identify individuals who could become difficult tenants and how to use lease addendums to address current residents who may be causing problems.

Managers also learn how to tap the assistance of several city and county agencies regarding issues like drug sales, domestic violence, child abuse, truancy, gangs and graffiti.

In the last two years, 108 apartment managers have participated in these training sessions.  InSan Diegoalone, the workshops have fostered dramatic crime reduction strategies impacting more than 15,000 apartment units and approximately 41,000 tenants, according to Community Relations Officers with the San Diego Police Department.

In Phase Two, deputies or officers conduct an on-site inspection with the apartment manager to identify and correct potential safety concerns including broken windows, screens and locks; inadequate lighting and overgrown trees/shrubs that could diminish visibility around the complex.

In Phase Three, residents join law enforcement officials and the manager at the complex to raise awareness about crime-prevention techniques, build trust and strengthen ongoing communications.

In addition to reducing crime and blight, the program also saves valuable taxpayer money.  After implementing CFMH at one apartment complex inLakeside, police and fire calls for service dropped 73 percent over the last two years, creating a savings of more than $35,000 for local law enforcement and emergency services, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

For more information about implementing Crime Free Multi-Housing in your apartment community, contact your local Community Relations Officer with the San Diego Police Department or Crime Prevention Specialist with the San Diego County Sheriff’s D